Congratulations to UBC Political Science alumna Dr. Laura Montanaro whose book, Who Elected Oxfam? A Democratic Defense of Self-Appointed Representatives, has been shortlisted for the Macpherson Prize by the Canadian Political Science Association.
The C.B. MacPherson Prize is awarded every two years recognizing the best book published in the field of political theory. The prize was established to honour the life and work of the late, distinguished, Canadian political scientist, Crawford Brough Macpherson.
In Who Voted for Oxfam? A Democratic Defense of Self-Appointed Representatives, Laura Montanaro argues that NGOs such as Oxfam in fact perform a vital democratic function, allowing for the representation of voices for which traditional democratic institutions and procedures are poor vehicles. Her book is painstaking in its articulation of the conditions that self-appointed representatives have to satisfy, and of the dangers that arise when these conditions are not met. Her book is a major contribution to contemporary democratic theory, one that expertly links contemporary issues with timeless questions that lie at the very heart of democracy.
See the full list of shortlisted candidates here.
